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A proposal filed by Arkansas state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson seeks a constitutional amendment to allow only expert witnesses with the same area of professional expertise as the defendant in medical-malpractice cases. The proposal comes in light of a ruling by the state Supreme Court last year that scrapped a provision in a 2003 law that placed restrictions on expert witnesses in medical-liability lawsuits, Hutchinson said.

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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, formally notified HHS that he will be asking to change the state's Medicaid program and seeking to extend and modify the current waiver that applies to expanded eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. Hutchinson has proposed requiring people with incomes above 100% of the federal poverty level to pay premiums, subsidizing employer-sponsored health plans for those eligible for Medicaid and offering additional benefits such as dental coverage for certain beneficiaries.

The proposed Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act faces uncertainty as Congress works with new leadership and faces "different fiscal demands and competing priorities," write Robert Cruz and Brian Finch. The insurance industry and other supporters insist that the bill is needed to maintain the terrorism-insurance marketplace as the U.S. remains at risk of terrorist attacks, write Cruz and Finch. "Whatever ultimately happens with TRIPRA, planning should begin now," they write.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was praised by PCI for signing an executive order to create a department for financial and insurance regulation and for seeking changes to the state's auto insurance system. "His call for reform to the state's no-fault automobile insurance system is an important next step toward addressing skyrocketing costs," PCI's Jeffrey Junkas said.

Lawmakers in Missouri want to consider bringing back medical-liability limits that the state Supreme Court found to be unconstitutional. The overturned law had placed a $350,000 limit on noneconomic damages in medical-malpractice lawsuits.